


Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

by Rose Gold (HailsRose)



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Anxiety, Banter, Dragons, Fear, Fights, Gen, Lifetime Bonds, Mixed Interactions With Other Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailsRose/pseuds/Rose%20Gold
Summary: "This will not do. I can't have a student of mine afraid of a creature that peacefully lives in the monastery." Cole's never been a fan of reptiles, majestic beasts notwithstanding. Though his bond with Rocky is something of a legend on the Bounty now, it doesn't mean their love for each other grew overnight. Or maybe it did.
Relationships: Cole & Rocky (Ninjago)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be real with you, this fic originally started out as a humorous 5+1 of Cole forbidding exotic, mythical, or otherwise unconventional pets in the ninja household but after 3,000 words of nothing but Rocky and Cole, I realized this was going to be more of a slowburn bonding fic between master and dragon.  
> ...Oops?  
> To be fair, I rewatched seasons 8&9 recently and was reminded that Cole's undercover nickname of choice was Rocky Dangerbuff and if that doesn't make you emotional, especially after what Iron Baron did—the clod—then you're in the wrong place. I'm here for ninja and life companion creature fluff ONLY.

Cole's first meeting with his dragon companion goes about as well as everything else in his life does—which is to say, not very well at all, what with the Scythe of Quakes and the fate of Ninjago on the line.

Jay always likes to tease him about having _rocky_ starts with everyone he meets. ("Ha! Get it? Because you're-" - "Jay, if you don't shut it, I'm going to kill you.") But coming face to face with the guardian of one of the Golden Weapons is definitely one of the more memorable ones.

Their second meeting goes even worse, with Jay hopping around in the background, waving his hands around and trying— _trying,_ because he's lost his voice, thank the FSM—to make fun of him. Because unlike Kai's moment with the fire dragon, filled a regal intensity so palatable Cole could almost touch it, the earth dragon doesn't really like him.

And it makes a point of telling him that as soon as he steps foot into the caves.

(He says 'steps' to retain his dignity but the truth here is that Kai got tired of Cole skulking around the entrance and ceremoniously hauled him in there, dumped him on the ground, and walked back out, effectively leaving Cole to an extremely crushing death at the claws of a furious reptile. So much for 'patience is a virtue.' Thanks a lot, Flame Brain.)

The earth dragon towers above him, its maw frothing with saliva. Cole flings his arms over himself as the dragon brings its front legs down on either side of his head and lets out a deafening roar mere inches away from his face. He sucks in a shuddery breath, curling into a tight ball as it lingers over him. Its panting reeks of dust and soot as it rolls over him in hot, relentless waves. They stay that way for a couple of minutes, Cole shielding himself as the near overwhelming pressure of tears starts pushing against his eyes. He dares peek out at the dragon for a fleeting second before returning to his little welter of misery, his mind racing a mile a minute under the cognizance that he's screwed up and he never should have agreed to Kai's plan because _now_ he's going to _DIE._

Cole braces himself for his bloody end, feeling the tears trickle down his cheeks despite his anger. It's like he's never learned a thing underneath Sensei Wu's tutelage, no discipline, no ability to mask his emotions, how stupid is this?

Then, all at once, the dragon lumbers away and tilts back onto its hind legs. As Cole glances up at the dragon, carefully unfurling himself, he almost swears there's a gleam of pity in its eyes.

Still, the dragon leans down to let Cole (with labored, panicky breathing that burns in his lungs) fasten a saddle around its middle and climb onto its back. They travel to the Underworld in strained silence, free of turbulence. But it doesn't assuage Cole all that much at several thousand feet in the air.

Even long after the issue with Samukai has been taken care of and Lord Garmadon is long gone, Cole doesn't approach his dragon all that readily. No amount of teasing from the guys can convince him to stray near the dragon keep when each of their new 'pets' has taken shifts screaming at the moon at unholy hours of the night.

There is one person, however, that can.

Even as Cole tries to ferret a way out of it, Sensei crosses his arms and offers him a disappointed expression.

"So, what's your dragon's name?" Jay says during that particular day after Sensei forced them all down to the keep to give each of the dragons a thorough scrubbing. The rainstorm from the previous night's mission had all of them dragging mud up and down the monastery steps, especially the earth dragon, who had taken every opportunity to roll around on the ground despite Cole's frustration.

"It doesn't have a name," Cole replies, flinging a bucket of soapy water at the earth dragon's hide.

"What?!" Jay angles a look of the utmost shock at Cole, eyes wide and jaw rattling around on the floor from where he's dropped it. "How can your dragon not have a name?"

"It just doesn't. I don't feel like naming it."

Jay scoffs. " _That_ is ridiculous. Your dragon has to have a name."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't really respond to names." Cole shoots the earth dragon the evil eye. It either doesn't know or doesn't care, rather it simply groans and rolls onto its side.

"Maybe you just haven't found the right name," Jay innocently suggests. He bounces over to his dragon's front, striking the dorkiest pose possible. "It has to be bold! _Striking!"_

In the next area over, Kai does his best to suppress a snort at the pun. Nya doesn't even try, she just dissolves into a fit of high-pitched giggling, which only spurs Jay on.

"It has to really stand out. As sharp and threatening as a whipcrack!" Jay mimicks winding up an invisible whip, then sends it flying in his dragon's direction. The creature rears up on his hind legs, his roar permeating the air like rolling thunder. "Like Wisp's name. You know?"

"Well, since you're so good at naming dragons, why don't you do it?" Cole scrubs off the last of the dirt on the earth dragon's hide, throwing a towel over his shoulder. "I'll bet he _loves_ you."

"Alright, fine."

Jay places his hands on his hips and marches his short, blue tail over to the earth dragon. He looks at Cole first, then straight into the earth dragon's eyes—which is an admittedly impressive feat, considering the earth dragon has tried to eat Cole every time he's attempted it. He makes a show of thinking, staring, capturing the earth dragon's attention with his strange display. Then, with an epic point, he dubs the dragon:

"Rocky!"

 _"Excuse me?"_ Cole asks with maximal incredulity.

"Your dragon's name is Rocky."

"Absolutely not."

The earth dragon has other ideas. Clearly in favor of the name, it leaps to its feet and starts jumping up and down, making a noise that sounds suspiciously like a mix of a pigeon cooing and a tiger chuffing. All of this much to Jay's enthusiastic delight as he copies Rocky in every conceivable way and even starts crowing on top of it all.

Cole covers his ears as the raucous drills into his head with the beginnings of a headache. He grouses and massages his temples, eying Zane, who's the furthest away from all this nonsense and blissfully unaware of why Jay's actions are so weird. Kai catches his gaze, spares Jay a glance when he begins bouncing around whilst flapping his arms, and cringes in tandem with Cole. Quickly, he turns toward Zane and calls out.

"Hey, Zane! Promise me that if I ever start acting like Jay whenever I'm around Flame, you'll smack me in the face!"

Zane looks up from where he's leaned against Shard's snout, basking in the majestic beast's presence. The poor, innocent sap gives them his best 'lost puppy' look. He tilts his head, his soft lips falling into a frown and his eyebrows quirking in an odd way.

"Why on earth would I do that?" He asks. "Jay's actions aren't harming the dragon. Actually, I'm rather quite fascinated by them."

Kai slumps, pursing his lips with a dead-eyed expression before he turns to Cole.

"Hey, Cole!"

"Yeah, I gotchu, I'll do it."

"Thanks, Cole."

Meanwhile, Jay starts screaming like a bird of paradise.

"Who's a good boy, Rocky?! You are! That's right, YOU ARE!"

* * *

"You are afraid," Zane diagnoses, as though it's not the most ludicrous thing Cole's heard ever heard. They're both in the kitchen, working together on dinner. Though, it might be more appropriate to say that Zane has relegated Cole to watching the water boil as he carefully stretches and tosses the dough he's using to make hand-pulled noodles. Cole's attention snaps to Zane as he takes a knife and effortlessly cuts the dough in half.

"What?" He croaks.

"Of Rocky," Zane clarifies. "You're afraid of him."

A low, almost startled chuckle rumbles in Cole's chest, beginning deep within before bubbling over into the open air. He breathes out a heavy sigh, his shoulders rising and falling with the motion when he catches Zane's entirely bewildered guise. An ice-cold rock forms in his stomach.

"No, I'm not," Cole says at length.

"You are."

"You have no proof."

"I do. I can tell by the way your heart speeds up whenever you have to get close to him."

"Wha- that's not- you can't just-" Cole splutters, his tongue tying itself into a frantic knot. "How the heck can you hear my heartbeat?"

Zane gestures to his sternum first, then to his ears, then to his eyes. If Cole didn't know any better, he would have said Zane was using sarcasm.

"Right." Cole deflates onto the counter, burying his head in his arms. "Seer. Blessed with sixth sense."

The silence permeates the kitchen in a thick layer, suffocating in its mercilessness. Between the two of them, the water in the pot rises into a steady boil, declaring itself the only noise in the room. It can't mean anything good if Zane, who's wise beyond his years and worn down into an old soul, has lost all consciousness of what to say. While known around the monastery for his quiet demeanor, how he speaks, walks, and fights in a soundless manner that everyone has yet to replicate, he's hardly ever short of some enlightening lesson he learned from some sage living on a mountain. Or from Sensei Wu. Really, they're the same thing.

After a few moments, Cole chances a look at Zane only to find that the kitchen is completely empty save for him. He bolts upright, whirling around just in time to see Zane leading Sensei Wu into the kitchen. Cole restrains the world-weary groan threatening to worm out of him. Of course, frosty went and brought the master into this.

The following conversation is highly unpleasant.

"Cole."

"I'm fine, sensei."

" _Cole."_

Cole squirms underneath Sensei Wu's gaze, not eager to meet the lack of belief he's got for his student. Zane busies himself with dinner once more, chopping vegetables to throw into the broth, going along with a guiltless disposition while the rock hard foundation of the team stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the subject. Finally, Sensei Wu breathes out.

"This will not do. I can't have a student of mine afraid of a creature that peacefully lives in the monastery."

"I told you," Cole responds, gritting his teeth. "I am not afraid."

"You have given me little reason to believe otherwise," Wu says. He runs a hand through his beard, humming absentmindedly. "Perhaps, what you need is a little old fashioned exposure therapy."

A stab of panic pierces Cole's diaphragm.

"Oh, no. Sensei please."

"I want you to spend as much time around Rocky as possible, give him that and your energy," Sensei says, his dark eyes boring into the deepest part of Cole's soul as he leaves no room for protest on his student's part. "Do not just take responsibility for his life as an owner would a pet they plan on giving to a shelter. Dragons are not just steeds or servants, they are life companions. Noble and loyal to a fault. He deserves every ounce of care you can give, even more than your teammates."

Cole flounders, searching deep into every one of his reserves for an argument only for Wu to silence him with a single look. He takes it with as much decorum as he can muster but his shoulders stoop traitorously low, even as he gives the signature bow of obedience.

"Yes, sensei."

* * *

It works out about as well as Cole predicted it would. Every time he even gets within Rocky's vicinity with the intention of doing something _other_ than a mission, the darned dragon makes it his only goal in life to give Cole a hard time. Whether it be rolling around on the ground, snapping and snarling, or outright refusing to move on command, Rocky is determined to be the most difficult animal Cole has ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

To make matters worse, he's decided that Rocky is the only name he'll ever respond to. It makes Cole want to bang his head against the wall.

He tried changing it, of course. He tried Crag, Crater, Spire, Birch, Fracture, even Fissure. But no. The ridiculous reptile prefers _Rocky._ Jay's very own homage to mocking Cole for liking boxing movies and for being terrible with words, _the clod._

Like most things since Cole became a ninja, everything is Jay's fault. Doesn't stop Jay from bashing him with a pair of nunchucks during training, though. Cole grumbles as Wu sits him down, examining his head for signs of blunt force trauma. Once satisfied his student doesn't seem to be in need of a hospital, he benches Cole and trots inside, returning moments later with a stack of rolled-up papers.

"Since there will be no exercising your body, you must instead exercise your mind." There's a brief pause in his motions as he faces Cole. "Scroll study," Sensei Wu commands, shoving a decent pile of ancient and probably fragile scrolls into his student's hands. "In the dragon keep. Stay there for about an hour."

"But sensei-"

"An hour, Cole."

Cole slouches at the tone of voice. Even if he'd rather do anything else, he isn't about to disobey his sensei. Despite the attempt at subtly for the exchange, the guys take notice and aren't afraid to complain about the orders in his place. Though for entirely different reasons that don't help his situation.

"Aw, c'mon, sensei!"

"Why does Cole get to do the cool stuff?"

"We wanna hang out with the dragons too!"

The sounds of their voices soon fade as Cole lumbers down to the dragon keep as slowly as possible, chewing on his lip until the taste of copper stings his taste buds. He hesitates upon approaching the keep, hand hovering on top of the lever as he stares down at the second to last stall, and finds a burst of irritation sprouting somewhere within him. Grinding his teeth together and swallowing down the nausea trying to scorch his throat, he yanks the lever and practically stomps into Rocky's enclosure. The dragon comes awake at his presence, practically dislocating its jaw while yawning before it blearily stares at Cole with half-open eyes.

"Sensei is making me study in here," Cole says, voice sharp. "Let's do it this way. I ignore you, you ignore me. No one gets hurt, capisce?"

Rocky growls but otherwise seems to have no problem with the arrangement. He readjusts his position, curving himself into a vague donut shape, and sinks deep into his slumber. Cole takes the opportunity to pick the spot in the stall furthest away from Rocky and set up his little study corner, reading away on...

"Ugh, really, sensei?"

...tea philosophy.

Well, reading away for the first forty-five minutes, the duration of which he flinched, tensed, and eyed Rocky with barely contained suspicion, his fight or flight reflex desperate to kick into overdrive each time the dragon so much as shifted around slightly. Cole's fraying nerves begin to get the better of him, so by the time he gets through chapter four of Tea Rituals - A Chamomile Narrative and Rocky grunts in his sleep, the words blur and slip out from underneath Cole's watery eyes.

He hisses out a curse and hurls the scroll against the far wall.

Rocky jerks awake, gaze darting to the noise though Cole pays him no mind as he pushes the heels of his palms against his eyes.

"Stop it, stop it, _stop,_ " he scolds himself, even as he feels his hands tremble. With a vehement groan, he drags them down his face only to discover that Rocky has since strayed from rest and gone over to investigate the scroll Cole discarded. He sniffs at it curiously. Then his tongue darts out for a taste.

It is at that moment, Cole panics. He jackknifes to his feet and springs towards Rocky quicker than anything he's done before. But it's far too late. Rocky opens up his mouth and scoops the scroll up with his tongue, trapping it between his teeth.

"NO!" Cole shrieks. He reaches for Rocky's reigns and hauls on them. "Rocky, no! Spit it out!"

Rocky chews along, tilting his head while Cole freaks out. "Bad dragon! _Spit. It. Out!"_

Then, with one grand movement, Rocky swallows the scroll. Cole's eye twitches, his mouth drops down in utter disbelief, and then... he explodes.

"Are you kidding me?!" He shrieks. Rocky rears back at the noise, a quick, gruff sound escaping him. A warning, almost. "You- you ridiculous, awful-" He lets out a scream of frustration. Rocky's eyes shrink into slits as a deep, rumbly growl reverberates in his throat. Before the panicky, gut-punching sensation Cole already had can double down, Rocky lunges straight for him.

Cole stumbles, flinging himself away. The tough ground of the mountain collides against his chest. The breath in his lungs wooshes out as he scrabbles for purchase, his vision spinning, head dizzy as a slurry of hysteria pools into his brain. Rocky's breath burns behind him, the ends of his razor-sharp teeth graze him, closing around the upper part of his leg, and for one solitary second, he's sure the dragon is intent on taking a bite out of him.

His gi stretches and pulls, _riiiiiiip,_ then the ground underneath Cole begins to fall away. A sharp breath sluices out him and it's with barely-contained terror he realizes that Rocky is holding him several feet up.

Terror spears through him in earnest, instinct fueling his next move.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Cole flails around like a madman, arms waving frantically toward the dragon behind until he lands a solid hit on Rocky's snout.

The dragon grunts, his teeth parting to drop its quarry into a magnificent heap on the floor. Cole's chest collapses. He grasps at his body to make sure he's still in one piece, that his leg hasn't been torn off and flung down the mountain, that he still has his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, chin, _everything._ Fingers, five on each hand and five toes on each foot. _Oh, thank FSM._

Rocky leers over him, casting a dark shadow as menacing as the Underworld. He doesn't quite know what comes over him, eyes burning and watering as he glares up at his assailer.

"Stupid dragon," Cole bites out.

Suffice to say, when Cole marches back up to the monastery ten minutes sooner than he's supposed to, Sensei Wu is not very amused. He's even less amused to discover that a dragon ate his scroll or that Cole's only ninja gi has an incredible tear on the backside.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what sensei is trying to do?" Jay asks.

"Not at all," Kai replies.

Two seconds later Rocky barrels by, his saddle askew on his back and his reins half-undone through the sheer power of will. Clinging to the reins for dear life as Rocky hales him through the muddy grounds of the forest, Cole shouts a litany of curses at the wild and out-of-control dragon.

"You know, I kind of feel bad for Cole," Kai says. His hands, among everything else, are stained with soot after Flame sneezed on him yet they still find the dragon's snout to gently caress. He winces as Rocky rolls over in a particularly deep puddle of mud, effectively squashing Cole underneath him.

Jay scoffs. "Are you kidding? It's Cole's fault he's even in this mess. If he'd stop being a fraidy cat, this wouldn't even be an issue."

Kai snorts, rolling his eyes. "That's a little cruel, don't you think? I thought you and Cole were best friends."

"We are. But Cole is still a moron."

As if to emphasize his point, Wisp gurgles a bit, somehow managing to lie his ginormous head on Jay's boney shoulder in a comfortable position. Jay reaches up, absently scratching the sweet spot underneath Wisp's chin, effectively eliciting a content purr deep within his body. He snuffles, blowing out a burst of sparks just a hair's width away from Jay's face. Not that he acknowledges it.

The sound of an enraged shout draws Kai's and Jay's attention back to the scene where Cole chases Rocky back across the clearing.

"Still on the dragon's side?" Kai asks. His teeth clack against each other as he grimaces, watching as Rocky twirls around, grabs Cole by the scruff of his gi, and starts shaking him around like a chew toy.

"Yep," Jay says.

* * *

Soon comes the night it's Rocky's turn to scream into oblivion for the umpteenth time. Cole does his best to block out the noise, hugging his pillow against his ears while the tendrils of fatigue tug at his heavy eyelids. The cycle of Rocky roaring and falling silent has gone on for a while now, periodically waking each of the ninja from slumber and leaving them to react to it in their own ways.

Jay groans, peering out from his blanket nest like the muzzy-eyed chipmunk he is before going back under, too tired to do much else aside from lying there in the dark.

Kai's garbled list of invectives grows each time, even as he scowls at the ceiling with thoughts of how hellish sunrise exercise is going to be in a few hours.

Zane, the luckiest of them all, sleeps through it in the upright meditative position that everyone has had a heart attack stumbling into at least once.

It's on the third round that Kai finally loses it. He bolts upright in his bed, crushing a pillow between his hands while his smoldering gaze lands on Cole, who's bunched up tight between three cushions and a fleece blanket. With an amount of viciousness only he can manage, he winds back his throwing arm, and pelts Cole with the pillow, snarling.

"Cooooole!" He whines, a venomous edge sneaking into his voice. "That's _your_ dragon! Go take care of it."

Rocky's howling roar pierces the night once more. The lump of comfort on Cole's bed shivers then finally removes the pillow from its head. He rolls out of bed, taking his fleece blanket with him into a jumble of anxiety and rage as it thunks onto the hollow and creaking floorboards of the monastery.

"THAT'S IT!" Cole suddenly shrieks. "I've had it with this ridiculous dragon. I'm DONE."

Wrapping his blanket around his shoulders, he marches out of their room, across the courtyard, and all but throws the doors to the monastery open, not caring that he's left them to sway in the warm, summer breeze. His hand automatically finds the lever to the keep and pulls. The doors squeak and groan as they fall open one by one, paving a path straight to Rocky's stall that Cole, for once in his life, does not hesitate to make his way over to. He pops into the enclosure, zeroing in on the thrashing, baying dragon backed into the furthest corner.

"Rocky, that's enough," Cole snaps. Much to his irritation, the dragon doesn't stop. If anything, it seems to kick up a fuss even more. Cole can feel the muscles in his back and shoulders bunch up and before he can even comprehend, he's only feet away from the dragon, thrusting his hands out in an attempt to catch Rocky's tail. Though the second Cole has it, it's ripped from his grasp and slammed into the ground. A beastly shriek follows shortly after, piercing the air with a twisting, crying undertone.

Cole tilts his head, catching the note. His breath catches in his throat, morphing into a thick, palling clump. Rocky's screeching floods him, a deluge of distress and wrath and something...

Something a lot like how Jay gets sometimes when he's dreaming about home, of all the junk in his parents' yard whining and sparking and contorting on itself, rising into the Frankenstein creature from every child's nightmares.

 _'A nightmare...'_ Cole realizes, his gaze sweeping Rocky's entire figure until he realizes that the dragon's eyes are screwed shut.

For one solitary second, Cole awkwardly shifts, viewing Rocky as an obstacle to get past. Then, he settles on propelling himself against the back wall, bouncing off of it, and flipping through the air in a perfect arc. He lands, far rougher than would have liked, at the base of Rocky's neck. With the flailing, jumbling foundation he's got going for him, it's a pretty impressive feat. As quickly as he can, Cole pulls himself over Rocky's head and starts lightly smacking the beast's snout with his palm.

"Rocky. Rocky, wake up!"

The shouting falls on deaf ears. Tightening his grip on the dragon's head, even as tilts in a way that almost bucks Cole straight into the ceiling, he resolves to wake Rocky up no matter what. With a heave, he brings his hand down on the side of Rocky's face, there's a sudden jolt, and everything, save for the rising and falling of the beast's spiny back, falls still.

With a bit of uncertainty, Cole leans over to get within Rocky's line of sight.

"Rocky?" He asks.

Bad idea.

The second even the wispiest strands of Cole's hair tickle the reptile's skin, he goes berserk, flinging Cole straight into the wall. Just in the nick of time, he manages to curl into a form that heaves most of the impact against his shoulder and not something important like say, his spine. He yanks himself off the ground, sucking in a breath and feeling his shoulder. Pain shoots through it like a bolt of lightning when he squeezes it but otherwise, it seems like nothing is broken. He huffs out a heavy, throbbing sigh of relief.

When he peers up, Rocky is sequestered in the corner, a shivering bundle of nerves hidden beneath scaley skin and rock hard armor. Puffs of dust and dirt blow out from between the set of sharp teeth, jolting, nearly violent. He meets Rocky's eyes, two glowing pinpoints piercing the night, shrunk down as they level out on his owner.

And something, frozen through with frustration and fear, melts and softens in Cole's chest.

With a hesitant step forward, hands raised, and with only the slightest pause when Rocky bares his teeth, eventually Cole finds himself leaned against the side of the dragon's head, his body moved by the steady rise and fall of the scaley frame beneath him.

"Shhhh, easy," Cole whispers out. "It's okay. It's all over now. You're safe."

Rocky is silent save for his heavy breathing. He eyes Cole with the slightest bit of suspicion before relaxing, a heaving breath pushing out to blow up small clouds of dust. There's a high, creasing noise that slips between Rocky's teeth. Whining, Cole realizes. Guilt balloons up in ribcage, smushing his heart against the walls.

"I haven't been very nice to you, have I?"

Cole absently follows Rocky's gaze up to the ceiling, drawing a wide, sweeping study of the dragon keep. Despite the hastily made walls and the mechanism that rattles and groans whenever the doors are hauled open or closed, he always thought this little keep was on the homey side. Or, he at least believed dragons didn't have much of a preference where they slept.

"Are you scared of the caves?"

It'd make sense if he was. Cole chews on his lip, remembering none too joyful the story Sensei Wu relayed to them about his venture in hiding the Golden Weapons. The scythe, though untouched by dust, pristine in its entire aura, had been buried for years. _Rocky_ had been buried for years. And to rub salt in the wound, Cole helped drop the Caves of Despair onto him while escaping with his team.

(Kai did that, technically. But Cole figures the difference doesn't matter much to a dragon who'd been after all of them.)

Rocky begins to shiver, deepset into his bones and vibrating even deeper into Cole. As if to confirm his suspicions, he grunts, claws scuffing against the ground. A suggestion wiggles around in the back of Cole's brain, demanding his attention. Singing is something he's always done for himself when he's lost in a maze of his own thoughts or boiling over with fury. Seldom had he dared do this in front of someone and sensei does not judge. Certainly, not the methods his students choose to calm themselves with.

If only Cole had faith in his own voice. He can't do karaoke with his teammates anymore after their waves of relentless teasing of the way it cracks and strains against high notes and clashes with every harmony.

 _But..._ A tone that sounds an awful lot like sensei's offers. _A dragon cannot judge either._

 _'Can't it?'_ Cole argues.

But in the end, it is the wiser input that wins out.

"Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream~" Cole starts, fully sinking into the warmth of Rocky's figure. "Make him the cutest that I've ever seen." The song is one from his childhood, taught to him by his father, sung by his mother in the late nights she would stay up, her silhouette laced between the curtains of the window staring out into the rolling hills where the sun would set. He's since learned that the song is energetic in nature but the way his mother sang it, gripped by melancholy and yearning, is far clearer in his head than any other rendition. "Give him two lips like roses and clover. Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over."

As the song fades, a single bell of clarity rings in Cole's head. The words are out of his mouth before he can even consider stealing them back.

"Sensei says dragons come from another world."

Rocky turns his head, a deep chuffing rumbling in his body. An affirmation, it feels like.

"Did you have family there? Siblings? A mother?" There's no answering this one-sided conversation. Somehow, Cole finds himself completely okay with that. Completely confident that anything he says here can never be echoed to someone he doesn't want to bear his heart to. Biting out the next words is like swallowing a bitter pill but a hefty weight lifts off of his chest, letting him breathe easy again. "I miss my mother too."

Once more, Cole discovers his eyes following Rocky's as it slips to the dark of night waiting outside. He wonders, then, how long he's been wrong about dragons.

* * *

The ground pulls away at dizzying speeds as the rhythmic beating of Rocky's wings carries Cole into a sea of stars and clouds bathed in moonlight. The chill of the high altitude, where even hot summer nights fade away, nips at Cole's skin, burrowing into his body around the fur-lined boots and scarf he threw on before they took to the skies, drawing out his breath in a pearly cloud.

With his hands curled tightly around the reigns, he gently steers Rocky in a wide loop and laps the Monastery. The repetition swirls around him in a daze, leaden like the dark circles under his eyes. Eventually, he finds himself content to leave all control to his companion and let his mind drift away. Rocky gradually descends to coast over the trees, a force of nature swishing them along until they break away into a clearing.

The abrupt turbulence of Rocky's landing jolts Cole awake. His eyes popping open and into their usual scan-and-sweep habit of ninja training but the tension seeps from his shoulders once he realizes there's nothing of interest.

The clearing seems innocuous enough, with enough room for a dragon to lounge around on and a still pond reflecting the starry sky. A light wind rustles in the trees, accompanied by a chorus of toads and frogs. Reeds and cattails poke up from the banks, hiding the creatures from keen eyes.

"What are we doing here?" Cole asks through a yawn. He slides down off Rocky's side, wandering around the clearing in a daze. Rocky answers by trudging to the edge of the pond and flopping down.

Cole stands and gawks at the dragon for First Master knows how long. He feels the corner of his eye twitch. Then, he sighs, his body rolling with it. He meanders over to the pond, absently finding Rocky's shoulder to lean against as he stares out at the rippling reflection. He stands there, keeping his weight in one place.

"You like to come out here to relax, huh?"

He understands why. Out here, where the only sounds are the creatures in the pond and the occasional chirp of crickets, it's a peaceful place to rest.

Cole turns to Rocky, his sight catching on a single shaft of moonlight as it shatters against the trees and showers him and Rocky in a drizzle of silvery light. He absently begins to slump against his dragon even more, not entirely comfortable if the knot twisting in his stomach is anything to go by. It might be because he's worn himself out. He's so exhausted, dealing with fear and dragons and the responsibility of a life companion. But his shuddering has subsided, so that has to mean progress. Hopefully.

The pond brush rustles. Cole manages to bring his attention to it just in time for a large, meaty toad to hop from the reeds not two feet away. He opens his mouth to bring out a thoughtful "huh, wouldja look at tha-"

Rocky shifts, leans toward the toad, and has it in his mouth before Cole can even comprehend.

"Rocky!" At the hard tone of voice, Rocky jerks, his eyes roving over Cole. "No, Rocky! Let it go!"

A dark growl sluices out from between Rocky's teeth. On instinct alone, Cole freezes, knuckles paling from the strain of squeezing the reins. _A step back,_ he thinks in fright. The familiar tremor of fear begins.

Then, as if reading Cole's mind, Rocky's gaze softens, his growling subsides, and with a groan that sounds downright remorseful, he loosens his jaw to let the toad go free. Cole rushes over to get a look at the shaking lump on the ground and is beyond relieved to see that it's all in one piece. The toad's eyes flit to Cole, then to Rocky. Deciding it doesn't want to take a chance on the dragon changing his mind, it leaps into the pond with a splash.

Cole sighs, relieved. He runs a grateful hand up the dragon's snout.

"Thank you, Rocky."

A sudden, choking noise leaves Rocky, who heaves. Cole steps back for a moment, watching wide-eyed as with one, two, three motions, Rocky spews out something else. When Cole looks, he notes the frayed and dissolved edges of a scroll. He huffs out a laugh, then graciously leans all of his weight against Rocky's head. It was the scroll Rocky ate a few days ago, in horrible condition, unable to be returned, and probably unreadable. It's beyond amusing to Cole and lets it show as his laughing grows into a joyful, thundering sound. A ribbed, echoing noise leaves Rocky as if he's laughing as well.

"Thanks, I guess," Cole mutters.

**Author's Note:**

> Not me realizing this whole thing needs to be cut into chapters mlegh.
> 
> Oh, well. Can't say I didn't try to make it a one-shot.


End file.
